U. S. Professor Sees Link With Lead And Chloramines

New technologies in water treatment could produce new problems, according to a report by the American Chemical Society. The report was reproduced in the Canadian Water Quality Association’s Communiqu of February 2009.

Dr. Marc Edwards of Virginia Tech University is arguing that a change in disinfectant from chlorine to chloramine can lead to leaching from the infrastructure into drinking water. After a study on hundreds of children in Washington, D. C., Edwards and his colleagues concluded: “For the youngest children, those under the age of 1.3 years, you saw substantial increases in blood-lead incidence immediately after switching to chloramine.”

Edwards has also warned that there could be unintended consequence of water conservation, saying that reduced-flush toilets and other water-saving devices are allowing water to remain in household pipes longer. He believes the stagnating water could have unwanted effects on household plumbing.